EXEC SUMMARY: Check out "Facebook's shadow government," Molly Ball's interview with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a historic milestone for "Grey's Anatomy," and more...
Now what?
"This," Rachel Maddow said, "is a feast day for the news gods."
Michael Cohen has testified under oath. He has incriminated President Trump. "We know what Democrats now see as their path for scrutiny," Chris Cuomo said Wednesday night. "The President may have broken the law while in office."
So now what? Viewers and readers need us in the news media to keep zooming out. WAY out. "What happened?" "Why does this matter?" "Is anything going to change?"
Here is Thursday's NYT front page
The banner headline says "COHEN ACCUSES TRUMP OF LIES AND COVER-UPS:" | |
Back to Capitol Hill in a moment, but first...
Trump and Kim, the sequel
For the very latest on the Hanoi meeting, check out CNN's live blog...
White House limits press access in Hanoi
American reporters asked Trump about Cohen's testimony during Trump and Kim's first photo op on Wednesday. Trump didn't answer. Less than an hour later, the W.H. blocked those reporters from attending the next event between the two leaders. Sarah Sanders cited "the sensitive nature of the meetings." The White House Correspondents Association criticized the administration's "capricious decision" to retreat behind "arbitrary last-minute restrictions on coverage..." Here's my full story... Access returned to normal on Thursday
>> On Thursday A.M. WaPo's David Nakamura asked the North Korean leader about the potential for a deal... He answered, which Anna Fifield said is "unprecedented..."
Trump holding an overnight presser
POTUS is scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon in Hanoi... Around 4 a.m. East Coast time. This means the sound bites will lead Thursday's morning shows... But only insomniacs and very early risers in the United States will see the presser live...
>> On days like this, I always ask Jamie to call and wake me up if anything jaw-dropping happens 😉
Cohen speaks
A top talent agent said to me Wednesday evening that their phone barely rang all day. "Everyone was watching," they said, no time for work.
Will that anecdote match up with the Nielsen ratings data? We'll find out on Thursday. Look for my story on CNN Business in the afternoon. Until then, here's some data from CNN Digital: "Wednesday is on track to be the third biggest day in the last year in live video starts, behind only the 2018 Midterm Election Day and Day 1 of the Kavanaugh/Ford Hearing," per CNN PR.
-- CNN.com and CNNgo properties saw 5.6 million live video starts… and 25 million total video starts, showing lots of people wanted to catch up on the testimony later in the day.
-- Concurrent live streams peaked at 476,000 around 1:50 p.m., nearly four hours into the hearing... And the live blog on the home page recorded upward of 3 million unique visitors...
Live coverage around the world
The 10 a.m. hour of the hearing was shown everywhere. Univision cut away after an hour. The other broadcasters stayed with it until 2 p.m. ET, when they started to peel away -- CBS first, then NBC, then ABC. The cable newsers fit in a couple commercial breaks during the intermissions. | | This was not just a US event. Cohen's testimony was live on Al Jazeera America, BBC World News, Sky News, CBC News, France 24... the list goes on and on... Per CNN's Mary Ilyushina in Moscow, even Russian state TV network Rossiya 24, which she says "rarely covers Trump-related investigations in much detail," broadcast some of the testimony live...
It's about the crimes
Cohen is saying that President Trump is a crook. Full stop. Cohen's credibility is certainly an issue, his allegations may not hold up, but he is alleging that this is a criminal presidency. Judge Andrew Napolitano said on Fox that Cohen accused Trump of "at least four potential felonies" -- IF "the government can corroborate what he said today."
Oh, AND Cohen said SDNY is investigating some other, unspecified illegal act by Trump. Contributor Chris Christie's analysis repeatedly made news on Wednesday. An example: He said Cohen's words that "would send a chill up my spine at the White House would be, 'I am in constant contact with the Southern District.'"
Later in the day, Mueller biographer Garrett Graff said on CNN that "we saw evidence, convincing credible evidence, that the POTUS was engaged in federal felonies while in the White House." But, Cuomo said, "this is a political contest," and the Republicans "had no interest in it! They had no curiosity..."
"The opening act"
Donny Deutsch, a friend of Cohen who has been keeping in close touch with him, speaking with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell: "This is the opening act." Deutsch said Cohen provided just "a peek inside this criminal enterprise," with much more to come...
--> Commentators on both CNN and MSNBC brought up the RICO Act on Wednesday night. "The president's running a racket," Jack Quinn said on CNN...
Notes and quotes
-- Chuck Todd on NBC: This was "the first unofficial hearing of the impeachment process, whether you want to call it that or not, that's what history is going to show…"
-- Sharon LaFraniere in the NYTimes.com live chat during the hearing: "It feels like for once, we got into a Mueller witness room, including a close-up of the credibility problems of those who are being questioned about Trump..."
-- CNN's Amanda Katz tweeted: "One of the most striking things about the Cohen opening statement is how neatly it corroborates literal *years* of reporting that the WH has pushed back on -- notably by NYT, WaPo, WSJ, CNN, BuzzFeed. Like finding out your whole shelf of spy novels is true."
-- WaPo's Greg Miller tweeted: "Cohen hearing was astonishing for 1) sheer volume and variety of alleged misconduct by the president 2) extent to which it all seems plausible and consistent with what we know of his character 3) how numb we have become in two short yrs to such disclosures."
-- Bush 43 W.H. vet Peter Wehner writing for the NYT: "Republicans on the committee tried to destroy the credibility of Cohen's testimony, not because they believe that his testimony is false, but because they fear it is true."
-- Chris Cillizza listed the 29 most consequential lines from the hearing...
This is what stood out to Lowry
Brian Lowry emails: Among many, one line of Cohen's testimony really stood out: "The campaign, for him, was always a marketing opportunity." If you subscribe to that theory -- that Trump entered the race to burnish his brand, and didn't expect to win -- it explains a great deal about the way the campaign was conducted, and really offers the spine to much of the controversy that has followed...
A waste of time?!
Oliver Darcy emails: GOP lawmakers at several times on Wednesday suggested that having Cohen testify before Congress was a waste of time and beneath the dignity of the chamber. It had me thinking: Are these Republicans not aware of some of the business that they took up while in power? For instance, when Republicans controlled the House Judiciary Committee, the pro-Trump duo "Diamond & Silk" was invited to testify before Congress where they misled members. Other fringe right-wing personalities like Gateway Pundit founder Jim Hoft were also invited to testify before the House. All this is to say that it was hard to take Republican lawmakers seriously when they were leveling such criticism...
No questions about Hannity
Oliver Darcy emails: We know that Cohen performed legal work for Sean Hannity, and Cohen told the House that he has tapes of conversations with clients outside Trump. But Cohen was never asked about whether those tapes might include conversations with Hannity, and Cohen was never asked about what legal work he performed for the Fox News host. Hannity has previously said the services performed was limited to real-estate work, but it would have been interesting with Cohen under oath had he been asked about this...
More notes and quotes
-- From an emailer: "Isn't it funny that GOP lawmakers entered articles from Vanity Fair, CNN and Washington Post into the congressional record? It's all fake news until it is not."
-- WaPo's Greg Sargent said that Cohen's testimony "partly vindicated" BuzzFeed's disputed report about Trump directing Cohen to lie to Congress...
-- Cohen explained "catch and kill" and said David Pecker had a "treasure trove of documents." AOC asked: Does the treasure still exist? "I don't know," he said...
-- CNN's Jim Acosta on the admin's relative silence after the hearing: "If they have a war room for dealing with Michael Cohen's testimony, we haven't seen any signs of it..."
GOP lawmakers indignant that Cohen might land a "book deal"
I lost track of the # of Republicans who questioned whether Cohen would cash in by getting a book deal. It sure sounded like a GOP talking point. "I have no book deal right now," Cohen said at one point, but "I have been contacted" about TV, movie, book deals, etc... And he said he does plan to seek a book deal in the future...
Hey, speaking of "book deals..."
Andrew McCabe's "The Threat" is debuting at No. 1 on the NYT's nonfiction best seller lists this week... After 15 weeks on top, Michelle Obama's "Becoming" is slipping to No. 2... Just another bit of evidence that Trump-related books are in high demand... The free market at work!
A final thought
Comedian Alex Baze of "Late Night with Seth Meyers" tweeted: "The Trump Presidency at this point is like when you've solved the puzzle at home but the contestants on TV keep on spinning the wheel."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Eliana Johnson's latest from Hanoi: "On 'Hannity,' Trump's summits are a smashing success..." (Politico)
-- CPAC kicks off at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday with Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Mark Meadows, fresh off the Cohen hearing...
-- Beto O'Rourke is signaling a presidential run... He says he's going to make an announcement "soon..." (CNN)
-- YouTube and Facebook aren't the only platforms where vaccine misinformation is spreading. Jon Sarlin found that anti-vax conspiracy theories are thriving on Amazon... (CNN Business)
Judge rejects Roger Stone's anti-CNN conspiracy theory
Remember Roger Stone's ridiculous claim about CNN being tipped off to his arrest?
"Judge Amy Berman Jackson has sided with federal prosecutors," CNN's Katelyn Polantz reports, rejecting an assertion from Stone's legal team that the Stone indictment was shared prematurely. "There is no evidence that the reporter had it earlier," before it was distributed widely or before Stone's arrest, Jackson wrote on Wednesday...
Arbitrator issues landmark ruling against 21st Century Fox
| | Katie Pellico writes: 21st Century Fox is arguing a private arbitrator "exceeded his arbitration powers" by awarding $178.7 million in damages to two "Bones" producers and the show's stars, David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. The ruling, made public Wednesday, argues that the producers and stars had been defrauded in a deal with Fox's broadcast network and Hulu.
THR's Eriq Gardner has a detailed explainer here. He says the ruling will not only put Rupert Murdoch's Fox sale "in a whole new light, but may also raise questions about the future viability of Hulu, plus any platform enjoying what's pejoratively known as 'Hollywood accounting...'"
Fox is fighting back
Per Gardner, "the company has now tapped star litigator Daniel Petrocelli, fresh off a win defending the AT&T/TW merger, in an attempt to overturn it."
Fox's statement: "The ruling by this private arbitrator is categorically wrong on the merits and exceeded his arbitration powers. Fox will not allow this flagrant injustice, riddled with errors and gratuitous character attacks, to stand and will vigorously challenge the ruling in a court of law."
>> The WSJ's Joe Flint says these kinds of legal showdowns will continue as the industry consolidates and "producers and actors want to ensure that deals to shop their work internally within media conglomerates are done at arm's length..."
Lowry's analysis
Brian Lowry emails: The "Bones" arbitration decision is particularly jarring, mostly because such claims have traditionally been settled under terms where the parties don't disclose the outcome. Moreover, the arbitrator specifically called out execs Peter Rice and Dana Walden, both newly appointed to major gigs at the combined Disney-Fox, prompting Disney CEO Bob Iger to issue a statement supporting them. As THR noted, the complaints cited Fox's "leading role in the well-documented history of Hollywood accounting scandals," referencing past litigation over "MASH," "The X-Files," "NYPD Blue" and "Cops." Disney is no stranger to these kind of lawsuits, including a major one brought by the producers of "Home Improvement."
Disney actively talking about acquiring AT&T's stake in Hulu
Variety's Todd Spangler had the scoop on Wednesday: Disney is in talks with AT&T to acquire the 10% stake that WarnerMedia has in Hulu. This had been expected, but Spangler says it's now happening. "The question is what Disney is willing to pay for the 10% stake," he wrote...
How streaming factored into the US v. AT&T ruling
An Phung emails: Netflix and Amazon are just two of the reasons AT&T wanted to buy up WarnerMedia's networks -- to compete with the streaming giants. In the end, it was these same tech companies that helped save the merger. Hadas Gold explains how... Read it here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Joe Flint reports that Robert Greenblatt "is in advanced talks with AT&T to take a senior role at WarnerMedia that could include oversight of a new unit that would combine HBO and Turner entertainment networks and an upcoming streaming service..." (WSJ)
-- Changes to HLN's daytime lineup: "Weekend Express" anchor Lynn Smith is moving to "On The Story" weekdays from noon til 2 p.m. ET. Susan Hendricks will take over on weekend mornings. Mike Galanos will anchor a new 2 p.m. show, "True Crime Live," leading into the channel's crime and justice docu-series... (AJC)
-- TikTok will be fined $5.7 million for violating children's privacy laws by collecting data without parental consent, according to a new FTC ruling. An app update will require all users to verify their age, directing those users under 13 to a "separate, more restricted in-app experience..." (TechCrunch)
| | A report from inside "Facebook's shadow government"
Simon van Zuylen-Wood reports for Vanity Fair on his time as an exclusive embed inside "Facebook's shadow government," the "external, independent board with the power to evaluate and override the company's most controversial decisions." He reports that, for example, as the platform was being used to disastrous political ends internationally, Facebook was trying to figure out what to do with "men are scum"-themed posts. Read the full piece here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
By Katie Pellico:
-- Medium launched OneZero Wednesday, the first of four new publications announced last week, to be folded into Medium's existing subscription plan. A new OneZero piece pools interviews with 15 "trust and safety employees" at Facebook, building on Casey Newton's exposé... (OneZero)
-- Here's another from Maya Kosoff on Amazon's "white man problem..." (OneZero)
-- The NYT "is taking its opinion video coverage in a new, YouTube direction..." (Nieman Lab)
-- Thought-provoking: "Why we need a PBS for the Internet age..." (WaPo)
-- The Economist recently restricted article access after seeing some potential subscribers "slip through the net and never hit the paywall... " (Digiday)
-- #ThisMuchIKnow is a new news startup in the works, backed by the Guardian's venture capitalist fund, and "based around Instagram stories from former British Vogue deputy editor Emily Sheffield..." (BuzzFeed News) | |
BI interviews Ross Levinsohn
Katie Pellico writes: Business Insider published an exchange Wednesday with Ross Levinsohn, the short-lived CEO and publisher of the LA Times, ousted after NPR's David Folkenflik painted a picture of him as a "frat-boy executive" last January. As Levinsohn denies the claims, arguing the #MeToo movement was "weaponized" against him, BI's Tanya Dua points out lingering inconsistencies and defends Folkenflik's reporting.
BI's story, Dua explains, "is not an apology for Levinsohn," but topically "combines a few of the big media stories of the past two years: the decline of traditional news organizations, the unionization of a newsroom, and the fallout from #MeToo-type claims."
She adds, it's also "a rare opportunity to have a high-profile figure answer our questions on the record about workplace-culture accusations." Find the exchange and accompanying article here...
Why Nintendo keeps returning to classics like Pokémon
This is the video game version of "play the hits!"
On Wednesday Nintendo "announced the launch of two new Pokémon games on its Switch console: Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield," Ahiza Garcia reports. "The move is a sign that Nintendo is trying to use adaptations of old favorites to breathe new life into its Switch gaming device..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- I love seeing Ted Turner writing an op-ed for CNN.com. His new piece celebrates the passing of the Natural Resources Management Act, lauding it as a "bipartisan victory for the planet..." (CNN)
-- "Spotify has launched in India after keeping music fans waiting nearly a year..." (CNN Business)
-- Matt Miller speaks with "True Detective" creator Nic Pizzolatto about the ending of season three and much more... (Esquire)
After "Leaving Neverland," HBO will air "Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland"
Lisa Respers France reports: Oprah Winfrey will sit down with the two men at the center of the Michael Jackson documentary "Leaving Neverland." Director Dan Reed will also appear "before an audience of survivors of sexual abuse and others whose lives have been impacted by it," according to HBO and Winfrey's OWN network, which are partnering on the special.
>> "Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland" debuts simultaneously on HBO and OWN at 10 p.m. ET on March 4, immediately following the conclusion of part two of "Leaving Neverland" on HBO...
FIRST LOOK
"The Triumph of Julia Louis-Dreyfus"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is holding the T in TIME on this week's cover. "Veep" fans might recall that there's a fake TIME cover in the opening credits of the show. So this is her first real cover of the mag... | | For the cover story, part of a package about comedy, Molly Ball interviewed JLD "about fighting to be taken seriously, making a career of playing unlikeable characters, the opportunities for women in television," and more, per the mag's press release.
>> JLD on Trump: "He'd be funny if he didn't have the power he has. He's sort of a pretend, fake president. He's a complete moron, start to finish."
| | "A Star Is Born" to be rereleased!
"A Star Is Born" will be rereleased "in more than 1,150 theaters with 12 minutes of new footage, Warner Bros. announced Thursday," THR's Pamela McClintock reports. "The one-week run commences Friday..."
>> Also: Bradley Cooper's ex-wife is angry at backlash over her Cooper/Gaga duet comments, Lisa Respers France reports...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- 'Beverly Hills, 90210' is coming to Fox this summer, reuniting OG cast members Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling. The "new '90210'" will be "inspired by the sextet's real lives and relationships..." (Deadline)
- Justin Freiman emails: Iconic Disney villains will be coming to Disney+, Variety reports. The series, currently titled "Book of Enchantments," will tell the origin stories of a variety of villains including Ursula, Maleficent and the Wicked Queen from "Snow White." Disney's new streaming service is expected to launch in late 2019... (Variety)
-- "Part II" of Netflix's "OA" will explore a reality where Barack Obama was never president. The trailer dropped Wednesday... (EW, YouTube)
NBC renews "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"
Brian Lowry emails: NBC has renewed "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" -- the former Fox series that the network gave a second life -- a day after picking up its three "Chicago" dramas. The cop comedy has done OK, but it's a critical favorite, and a reminder that the networks value stability right now...
"Greys Anatomy" makes history on Thursday
Thursday will be the show's 332nd episode — topping "ER" to become "TV's longest-running primetime medical drama," THR's Lesley Goldberg reports. She visited the set and talked with cast members about the show's longevity...
| | | That's a wrap! Thanks for reading. Email me with feedback, story ideas, anything. See you tomorrow... | | | |
